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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29939688">Where Your Heartache Exists</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrWindUpBird/pseuds/MrWindUpBird'>MrWindUpBird</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OMORI (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coming of Age, F/M, High School, Other, Romance, Slow Burn, Sunburn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:22:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,801</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29939688</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrWindUpBird/pseuds/MrWindUpBird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A more serious exploration of what happens between Sunny and Aubrey during the last few weeks of spring semester, after Sunny moved away.<br/>Starting over in a new town, will Sunny's popular days begin at last?<br/>What has his reappearance awakened in Aubrey's heart? <br/>What do Kel and Basil have to say about it... or their parents? <br/>Hanging over everything, the menacing shadow of... prom. </p><p> </p><p>Named for a Menzingers song which I enthusiastically recommend.<br/>New chapters posted weekly-ish.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aubrey/Sunny (OMORI), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>151</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>But I was a pushy little one</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When you tried find someone new</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I just kinda waited around</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because what else was I supposed to do?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The Menzingers – “Where Your Heartache Exists”</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 1</p><p> </p><p>Aubrey always found it hard to come home to this place – the squalid, moldering dump at the end of street where she spent as little time as possible. After spending Sunday wandering around in the sunshine with Sunny and Kel, it was particularly depressing: the flickering yellow of a streetlight shining on black plastic bags of junk and illuminating missing patches of roof shingles, feet squelching in mudholes that never quite dried up, long-uncut grass catching at her ankles. The glow in Aubrey’s heart, from the day she’d just had, threatened to flicker and die; as, coming into the living room, she was confronted with the sight of her slovenly mother, in a stained night dress, cracking open another can of beer on the couch in front of the TV. Aubrey dashed up the stairs, desperate to avoid any interaction with mother, and turned and locked the door of her room behind her.</p><p>She quickly fed Bun-bun, and then flung herself down on the bed with a sigh, and covered her face with her pillow.</p><p>It had been the first time she’d seen Sunny since he’d moved, just over a month ago; a month Aubrey had spent thinking about the past, and processing what he’d told them about what happened with Mari. At that time he’d looked pale, sickly, frightened – a genuine ghost out of the past. And what he’d revealed had rocked everyone. But at the same time… everything suddenly, finally made sense. Like those pine trees out West, which need the heat of a forest fire to bust open their cones: it made a fresh start, and it felt possible to do something like moving on at last.</p><p>Already, Sunny himself looked revitalized. He’d put on weight, gained some color; he was still the quiet, deadpan kid he’d been before, but unmistakably, Aubrey had seen it flickering behind his eyes again: the dry, unexpected humor, the subtle intelligence he’d displayed all those years ago. To her immense surprise, she’d realized today that it still had the power to make her heart skip a beat; and where the last time they’d been together he’d been a tiny child, now he was on the verge of becoming a man.</p><p>She stood up, went over to the beat-up little vanity in the corner of her room, looked in the mirror. What an opportunity Sunny had for himself, too, Aubrey thought – to start over in a new place, with no past, and no reputation. Nobody knew him, or believed anything about him there. He could be anything he wanted. She looked at her wild pink hair; took out her bright blue contacts, wiped away the winged eyeliner. Even if she changed her look, she would still be remembered as the angry rebel girl in Faraway Town for a long time to come. And – did Sunny like her like this? When they’d known each other she’d been dark-haired. Cutesy. She still had the pink ribbon in the drawer here; she took it out, held it up to her head. It was too small now, and the girl who’d worn it was gone forever.</p><p>Aubrey took out her phone. Sunny had a mobile now, and they’d exchanged numbers earlier that day; but there were no messages. She closed her eyes, held it tight, and willed it to buzz. Buzz! Come on! But nothing. She turned the camera on, tried to line up a selfie; but behind her was the cracked plaster and, on the wall – a big spider. Ugh! She tossed her phone onto the bed and kicked her feet in frustration. Sunny had escaped this place, and she was left here, the broke girl with bad grades from the broken home. What a catch, right?</p><p>Maybe the right thing to do would be to let him find a nice normal girl, and to forget about the past…</p><p>But Aubrey picked up her phone again. Forget the right thing. That’s my little Sunny… I know he didn’t forget about me. I <em>know</em> it. She thought about the way he’d looked at her today – there was feeling there, right? Right? Uuuugh! She had to text him. Had to. She opened Messages; composed one, deleted it, composed another one… Sunny! <em>Why won’t you text me first, you stupid boy?</em></p><p> </p><p>“Should you really be getting home this late?” said Ross. Ross was Sunny’s mom’s boyfriend; a man who wore a tie even when he was at home, and who had cultivated a stiff black mustache that looked like a strip of rubber. Sunny imagined Ross would soon be his stepdad; this thought did not fill Sunny with joy.</p><p>“Uh. I don’t know,” said Sunny.</p><p>“I just think your mom would feel safer if you got home when the sun was still out. Don’t you think, sport?” said Ross.</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>“Is your homework done, at least?”</p><p>“Yeah. I did it yesterday.”</p><p>“Well. You’ve got a plate in the fridge. Your mother hoped you would eat Sunday dinner with us, you know.”</p><p>“Ah… right. Thanks. Ross.”</p><p>“Don’t stay up too late, alright?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>This must be what they call “parenting,” Sunny thought. The man, Ross, it seemed like he meant well; but his frequent presence in the new house – he hadn’t moved in yet, why didn’t he ever go to his own house? - wasn’t making it any easier to get settled in. This place still felt strange: it was clean and neat, organized; no piano, obviously, that had been sold, and all the old toys and books were in storage. Almost all the memories had been put away, in fact: except, on the mantel over the fireplace, at Sunny’s insistence, were a set of framed photos of the family as it had once been. Including Mari. Sunny glanced at them, on his way to his room – he made a point of it. He was living in the real world now. Looking at those pictures made him feel pain. Good. Let me feel it, he thought.<br/>Sunny’s room had all new furniture, metal shelves, a glass-topped desk, very modern and adult. He sat in his swiveling office chair, and looked back at the day. His first in Faraway Town in over a month; he really hadn’t been planning to go, but Kel had gotten his number off his mom and texted him every day until he relented. And if it had pained them to see Mari’s little brother – the killer – again, they hadn’t let it show. No, on the contrary: it had been a lovely day. They had got milkshakes and walked around the park; Sunny and Aubrey exchanging glances while Kel blathered on about his new workout routine, and how Sunny could start doing it too. “You’ve been indoors too long, dude. We’re in our prime now! It’s time to get strong!” Kel had said, flexing his biceps.</p><p>Aubrey… she hadn’t said a lot, just let Kel take the lead. And even when Kel had tried to nettle her in his usual way, she’d just blushed and mumbled. Sunny sighed. She’d probably fallen in love with Kel while he’d been in hiding. Who could blame her? Kel was tall, fit, handsome, and optimistic – everything he, Sunny, wasn’t. But what a shame – in the intervening years she’d become so fiercely beautiful. (And fairly towering herself.)</p><p>Sunny thought back to who they’d been as kids; Aubrey, his first crush, the thought of whom had kept him awake countless nights. Every second with her felt like an adventure; any step you took with her might lead you to a new adventure. He didn’t think he’d ever really get over Aubrey. But he’d missed his chance, and that’s just the way it was. Wasn’t it?</p><p>Even so, he opened his bottom desk drawer, and pulled out Mr. Plantegg – the little stuffed animal he’d salvaged from the old treehouse right before they’d got in the car to leave Faraway Town. He gave it a squeeze, and felt a little pang in his heart to think that at some point, however long ago, Aubrey had squeezed Mr. Plantegg too.</p><p>Then there was a buzz in his pocket – his cellphone. A text message? He pulled it out.</p><p>“So prom’s in a few weeks. Got anyone to go with yet?” it read.</p><p>It was from Harper – the girl with the bushy brown hair and the round glasses, from his homeroom class. Just a couple days after he transferred to South Woodlawn High, she’d come right up to him and introduced herself, and asked him for his cell number. Since then, they said hi to each other in the halls, and worked together sometimes during study hall; and every now and then she’d send him pictures of her fluffy orange tomcat, Melville.</p><p>“I haven’t thought about it. I probably won’t go,” Sunny sent back absently. Prom? Like… with suits? And dancing? He wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t thought about it.</p><p>“We’ll talk about it tomorrow at school :) “ came the reply from Harper.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay on this.<br/>I was preparing for a big exam that I had to take on 3/26.<br/>Naturally... I failed :(<br/>Oh well. More time to write.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               “It’s so great to be back together again, isn’t it?” said Kel, setting down a tray of fruit juice on the workbench. Aubrey and Basil had come over to Kel’s after school, and they were hanging out in Kel’s dad’s secret spot: the shed behind the house. They sat on old junked lawnchairs or, in Basil’s case, perched awkwardly on an overturned 5-gallon bucket. Dusty junk was all around – tennis racquets with busted strings, miscellaneous lengths of board, flower pots, a telescope used a couple of times and then put away forever. In one corner, a motorcycle was leaned against the wall, gently rusting – a remnant from Kel’s dad’s youth.</p><p>               “I guess it’s not literally the worst thing in the world,” said Aubrey.</p><p>               “So, uh, Aubrey,” said Basil. “What did you want to see us about?” He wore a smile that looked forced – even if Aubrey had come around and decided to clean up her act, there were still a couple of years of memories of painful bullying between them.</p><p>               “Yeah! Did you want to remind us how much you love us? Are we gonna go beat somebody up?” said Kel. Aubrey glared at him.</p><p>               “No, stupid. It’s about Sunny,” she said. There was a pause, during which Aubrey turned a bit pink; she stood up and turned away from them.</p><p>               “Aubrey?” said Basil.</p><p>               “What about Sunny?” said Kel. “I talked to him yesterday. Even after missing all that school, he’s already better than I am at algebra…” Basil held his hand up to quiet Kel.</p><p>               “I… “ she began, and the other two leaned in.</p><p>               “I think I…. like him!” cried Aubrey.</p><p>               Kel and Basil looked at each other, blinked a few times. They looked back at Aubrey, and at the same moment, said “What?”</p><p>               Aubrey balled up her fists and put one in her mouth, stifling either a scream or a sob; then she sighed and slumped back down in the lawnchair.</p><p>               “You know we always had kind of a… thing. When we were kids. Sometimes he liked me, sometimes I liked him; but it was like, you know. Little kid stuff,” she said, staring at the floor. “I thought it would have faded away, but when I saw him again – it was, it was like it had been building up the whole time.” She looked up at Kel and Basil, as if daring them to laugh. Instead Kel wore his familiar puzzled expression; Basil looked pensive, concerned.</p><p>               “Why are you telling us this, instead of Kim and… Vance, and the others?” said Basil.</p><p>               “They don’t know about what happened. About Mari. You guys are the only ones who might understand,” said Aubrey. “So… what should I do?”</p><p>               “Whoa, you’re asking us?” said Kel. “As handsome as Basil and I certainly are, I don’t think either of us have a lot going on in terms of love lives right now, you know…”</p><p>               “Sure, but – you know Sunny. You know what he likes. I… I can’t even text him! I’m, I’m….”</p><p>               “You’re a weenie!” exclaimed Kel.</p><p>               “It’s TRUE!” she cried, and buried her face in her hands.</p><p>               “Aubrey and Sunny, huh…” said Kel, to no one in particular. “It makes a certain kind of sense. Don’t you think, Basil?”</p><p>               Basil stood up, a stormcloud on his face.</p><p>               “No. I really don’t. You… you need to let him go. He left for a reason. If he wanted to be with you, he wouldn’t have gone,” said Basil; and he walked out of the shed and off towards his house.</p><p>               “Basil! Wait!” Aubrey called after him, but he didn’t turn around.</p><p>               “Let him go, Aubrey,” said Kel. “I’ll talk to him later.”</p><p>               “What did he mean by that? Why would he say that?”</p><p>               “I think… he’s still struggling with Sunny being gone. Like, even though they’re talking now, it’s not like before. I think Basil wanted it to be like before,” said Kel.</p><p>               “Not like before…” said Aubrey. <em>Is that just what I want, too? For things to be like before? When we were little kids?</em></p><p>They sat in silence for a while. The air was still; dust motes floated in a shaft of sunlight from the yellowed plastic window of the shed.</p><p>               “I’m sorry, Aubrey,” said Kel. “I don’t really know what to tell you about this. It’s the kind of thing we used to go to Hero with, before he left.”</p><p>               “It’s alright. I think I just needed to tell someone,” said Aubrey. “Do you agree with Basil? About what he said?”</p><p>               Kel looked away, not meeting her eye. “No! I think… it’s not like it was even up to Sunny, that he moved. He didn’t sell the house himself, or whatever.” He took a deep breath, formed his mouth into a line. “If you want to be with Sunny, you have every right to try. That’s what I think.”</p><p>               Aubrey’s face lit up. “Really?”</p><p>               “Sure.”</p><p>               “So…” She wrung her hands together, nervously. “Can you… do you think… could you set something up? For the weekend? Where we all hang out?”</p><p>               “Whoa, like, the three of us? You want me to be a third wheel?”</p><p>               “Well – it would be too forward if I just ask him directly!”</p><p>               “And you’re a giant weenie.”</p><p>               “…yes.” Aubrey turned her big blue eyes on him. “Please?”</p><p>               Kel sighed. “Alright, man. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll text you.”</p><p>               “Kel, Kel, you’re the best!”</p><p>               “Uh-huh. I’ll remember that. But listen – I’m gonna try to get Basil on board too, okay? I don’t want us to be split up over this, after we just got the gang back together.”</p><p>               “No, that’s good. I… I don’t blame him,” said Aubrey. “I have a lot to make up to him. But we have to make a new start, somehow.”</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p>               “Sunny! You’re not gonna eat lunch alone, are you? Come to the courtyard with me! It’s beautiful outside!” It was Harper – brown hair tied in a thick braid, in a breezy floral sundress, she’d ambushed him outside his class when the bell rang.</p><p>               “Uh… sure,” said Sunny. <em>Why not, right? </em>“Lead the way.” <em>Where are your other friends? </em>They’d studied before, in a group with other kids; but he’d never actually hung out with her, one-on-one.</p><p>               He followed her, past students slamming locker doors and teachers surreptitiously checking their phones. Sunny didn’t even know how to get to the courtyard, so he trailed behind Harper like a lost puppy, brown bag lunch in one hand; once, she looked back and flashed a smile.</p><p>               They entered into the school’s courtyard, a open square in the center of the building that featured a fountain, some picnic tables, a patchy grass lawn, and a few stressed-looking trees. Harper brought Sunny to a patch of clover behind a particular tree facing the school, partly shadowed and out of the way of any passing foot traffic. “This is my favorite spot,” she said. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and sparkled on her glasses.</p><p>               “So – do all the new transfer students get this kind of welcome?” said Sunny, punching a hole in a juice box with a straw.</p><p>               Harper giggled. “No. Only the taciturn, mysterious ones.”</p><p>               Sunny quirked an eyebrow at her. “Is that how people see me here?” He snorted. “I’m not trying to be like… some brooding mystery man, I swear.”</p><p>               “No, I know,” said Harper. “You just keep your head down and mind your own business. It seems like you would be one of the really shy, awkward kids, but then when you talk in class, you don’t seem nervous at all. It’s kind of awesome. Very adult.”</p><p>               “Really? I guess I don’t think about it.” He pondered. “Some of the stuff I’ve dealt with in the last couple of years… giving presentations or whatever, just isn’t scary at all.”</p><p>               Sunny’s eyes met Harper’s, and he could tell she was suppressing a giggle. He groaned. “It’s okay, you can laugh. I’m making myself sound like an anime character.” She did laugh then, but not unkindly.</p><p>               Harper scooted closer to Sunny; her leg was touching his. She peered into Sunny’s eyes, and took one of his hands. “Will you tell me a few of your dark secrets?” she said, in a voice half-beseeching, half-mocking.</p><p>               Sunny managed to keep his deadpan expression, and he held her gaze, but only just. <em>She’s just messing with you. Trying to get a rise. </em>“Maybe if we get to know each other better,” he said, totally neutral; and Harper blushed, and laughed, and turned away.</p><p>               “You’re so smooth, what the hell!” said Harper.</p><p>               “I am? Wow. Who know it was so easy?” said Sunny, and she laughed even more. <em>Is this what normal high school is like? </em>Sunny retrieved a PB&amp;J from his lunch bag, and by a sort of unspoken mutual détente, they stopped picking at each other for the time it took to eat.</p><p>               Ten minutes were left in the lunch period when they finished, according to the clock on the wall opposite. Harper laid her head on Sunny’s shoulder. “Is this fine?” she asked, in a small voice.</p><p>               <em>Is it? </em>He felt her ear touching his collarbone. It was nice.</p><p>Sunny thought of Aubrey.</p><p>               Perhaps she was resting her head on someone’s shoulder right now.</p><p>               <em>This girl… maybe she likes me. Haven’t I been through enough pain? Would it be wrong, to feel something nice?</em></p><p>“It’s fine.”</p><p>               <em>Do I like her? I don’t know her. </em></p><p>
  <em>               Doesn’t seem to be stopping her.</em>
</p><p>“Can we get to know each other better? Like you said?” said Harper.</p><p>               “Sure.”</p><p>               “And then you’ll take me to prom?”</p><p>               <em>Are you serious? </em></p><p>               “Are you serious?” said Sunny.</p><p>               “More or less.”</p><p>               “Let me think about it.”</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               After some considerable searching, Kel tracked Basil down; he was sitting on a bench by the road, watching cars go by with a dull expression on his face. When he saw Kel he appeared to briefly consider running away.</p><p>               “Basil. Take a walk with me, dude. We’re in this together.”</p><p>               They walked, slowly, back in the direction of home: Basil looking at the ground, Kel with his hands in his pockets.</p><p>               “So what’s the deal, man?” said Kel. “Why are you so pissed off?”</p><p>               Basil stopped, and turned to face Kel. “Kel. Do <em>you</em> want Aubrey and Sunny to be together?”</p><p>               “What do you mean? It’s… it’s none of my business, is it?” said Kel.</p><p>               “That’s not what I’m asking. What about you?” said Basil.</p><p>               “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Basil.”</p><p>               “Think about it a little harder.”</p><p>               Kel put his hand on his chin. A car zoomed past, and his hair fluttered in the breeze.</p><p>               “You mean… do you like Aubrey? That doesn’t seem likely at all, considering how she treated you – “</p><p>               “Not Aubrey,” said Basil. For the first time that Kel could remember, there was a bit of an edge in Basil’s voice.</p><p>               “You – you don’t mean…” stammered Kel.</p><p>               “Can we not do that whole thing?” said Basil. “Where you express all your shock and disbelief? It’s boring. Anyway. Yes. Me and Sunny. And <em>you – </em>and Aubrey.”</p><p>               “Dude, no! What are you talking about, man? Never. Never in a million years,” said Kel.</p><p>               Basil advanced on him, a steely look on his face. “Kel, I don’t know about you, but I’m done with lying. I’m done with lying forever. Look where lying got us before. You need to face the truth, too.”</p><p>               Kel backed away, and put his hands up. “Hey, hey… uh, let’s just keep walking for a minute, alright?” Basil shrugged.</p><p>               In silence they walked for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Finally they reached Basil’s street, where they would have to part.</p><p>               “Basil, listen – I’m really not sure about what you’re saying there. About me, and Aubrey. I’ve never, like… consciously, thought about it.”</p><p>               “Maybe I know you better than you know yourself.”</p><p>               “Maybe you do, man. But still! Even if you’re right. I think…” Kel looked off at the horizon. “Even if you’re right, I think those two need each other more than I need anybody. I don’t know how Sunny feels about Aubrey at this point, but if they can get something going that can make them happy, I know I’m not standing in their way. Seeing them happy – I know I haven’t seen it often enough, these last few years.”</p><p>               “That’s all fine and good,” said Basil. “But you know what I took away from that? That we may not get that many chances at happiness, ourselves. I can’t just give mine away. To just… walk away from it? When it might never come back? I won’t do it, Kel. I’ve got to go for it. Think about what I said.”</p><p>               “Well, hey – if me and Aubrey go up to see Sunny this weekend, will you come along? Maybe we can forget about all this soap opera crap for one day, and just do something fun – maybe? What do you say?”</p><p>               “Let me think about it,” said Basil, and he went into his house.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>In text messages, later that week:</p><p> </p><p>Kel:</p><p>Sunny’s down for Saturday. We’ll take the bus up to Woodlawn. He said he’ll show us the sights.</p><p> </p><p>Aubrey:</p><p>YAY &lt;3</p><p>What about Basil?</p><p> </p><p>Kel:</p><p>I talked to him, but I’m not really sure still. We might want to give him space for now, I’m sure he’ll come around.</p><p> </p><p>Aubrey:</p><p>What should I wear??</p><p> </p><p>Kel:</p><p>Dude if you’re asking me, you’ve already lost</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p>               Kel put the phone down, and tried to go back to his video game, but it was no use. Basil’s words had wormed their way into his brain. He imagined riding the bus to Woodlawn, just him and Aubrey; remembered the way her laugh sounded when she couldn’t contain herself…              </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I’ve been having a horrible time</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pulling myself together</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’ve been closing my eyes to find</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Why all good things should fall apart</em>
</p><p>The Menzingers, “Good Things”</p><p> </p><p>Sunny sat at the kitchen table, napkin in his lap, directly across from his future stepfather, Ross; whose bushy mustache gleamed in the fluorescent light, whose bright blue golf polo fairly glowed. His mother arranged dishes on a great serving platter on the countertop, and meanwhile Ross examined him with a beady eye. Sunny thought back, wistfully, to that interval where it had just been him and his mom in the house – to horrible TV dinners consumed, in peace and quiet and solitude, on the cat-hair-covered couch. He’d never expected to think fondly of that time in any respect; but, it had to be admitted, there were aspects of it which compared favorably to having this blocky, glowering man stare at him over his mother’s misguided efforts at cooking. Perhaps there was something to be said for family dinners, but Sunny couldn’t see what it was exactly.</p><p>               “So,” said Ross, with a sniff. “This Aubrey who’s coming up tomorrow. Your mother tells me she’s been running with a bad crowd.”</p><p>               Sunny said nothing; just kept his face neutral. <em>He doesn’t know. It’s not important what he thinks anyway.</em></p><p>“What do you think about that?” said Ross.</p><p>               <em>Play the game. </em>“I never heard much about that,” said Sunny. “Some of those guys she hangs out with maybe don’t get very good grades. Sometimes people get in scuffles or whatever. I think that’s about as bad as it ever gets in Faraway Town.”</p><p>               “Well – you’re not to get in any “scuffles” yourself tomorrow, do you understand?” said Ross. Sunny felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.</p><p>               “Ross is right, honey,” said his mom, setting down the platter and pulling off the lid; revealing a steaming, greyish bird and some wilted greens. “You’ve made such a fine start here – should you really risk spoiling it? She’s not a very good influence, I think.”</p><p>               “You’re supposed to be making a clean break from the past, aren’t you?” said Ross.</p><p>               Sunny chewed and swallowed, staring at his plate. <em>Whatever they want to hear. Don’t rise to it. </em></p><p>               “I… I think it will be fine,” said Sunny, controlling his voice. “They’re trying to be good friends to me, Aubrey and Kel. It wouldn’t be right to turn them down from that.”</p><p>               “Well – perhaps you can start to taper off?” said Ross.</p><p>               “Yes – it’s a sweet thought, Sunny. That’s great. Ross, I’m sure it’ll start to fade out over time, don’t you think? In a new town? He’ll start to make new friends, and I’m sure they’ll be the right sort of people,” said his mom. “Right, Sunny?”</p><p>               “Sure, Mom.”</p><p>               After dinner, Sunny returned to his room, and shut the door – gently, calmly.</p><p>               Then he balled his fists up; clenched his jaw, screwed up his face, and buried it in his pillow, of which he took a great full bite. Then he screamed, muffled, for about 30 solid seconds.</p><p>               <em>In a few weeks it’ll be summer vacation. Then I just have to get through one last school year. I can do it. I’ve handled worse. This is nothing. Nothing. It’s nothing. </em></p><p>Then, unable to help himself, he imagined it playing out the way Ross and his mom would like: one day, just never texting Kel back. Texting Aubrey for the last time; he imagined Aubrey years from now – “I wonder whatever happened to that kid Sunny? I guess we weren’t that close, in the end…” He screamed into his pillow again.</p><p>              </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               It was still pretty cold in the spring evenings in Faraway Town. And in Aubrey’s house, she could really feel it, because the furnace had quit working properly a few weeks back. The warmest option, then, was to go to bed early, if only to be under the blanket. She lay there, on Friday night, listening to the weird thumping noises of the furnace trying, and failing, to kick on. Aubrey had pleaded with her mother to call someone to get it fixed; had offered to come up with the money from somewhere herself. Her mother had merely grumbled something that Aubrey couldn’t understand, and then turned around and shambled away. This was how she responded to most efforts at conversation now.</p><p>               Aubrey felt something on her foot, and wondered which kind of bug it was. She hoped cockroach; the other options were worse.</p><p>               <em>How long can I go on like this? </em>Aubrey thought. <em>I don’t know how to fix a freaking furnace. How to run the freaking household. I’m gonna wake up one day, and she’s just gonna be gone. Or dead. And it’ll just be me… and what am I going to do?</em></p><p>               She curled up into a ball, still chilly under a threadbare blanket. She thought of Sunny’s face, and felt a little bit warmer. <em>Thank God the washer and dryer still work. Thank God I have clean clothes to wear tomorrow. </em></p><p>               It was only 9:00 PM – he was probably still awake. Aubrey looked at her phone. No notifications. <em>I could text him… better not.</em></p><p>She imagined Sunny showing up outside her front door, in a great black sedan, wearing a tuxedo like James Bond for some reason – and still almost a head shorter than her. “Sorry I kept you waiting, Aubrey. Let’s get out of here. For good.” And they’d leap into each other’s arms. Imagining the happy tears she’d cry on that day, Aubrey cried a couple into her pillow.</p><p>               She tried her best to dream about it, to escape into that world, but instead fell into a dreamless sleep.</p><p>              </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               Early Saturday morning – though Kel would’ve happily slept until at least noon, he had to take care of business today. So he’d rolled out of bed, thrown clothes on, and hit the bricks. Later, at intervals, it occurred to him here and there that considering what he was doing today, he might at least think about brushing his hair; but something always distracted him, and he never did.</p><p>               As Kel had known he would be, Basil was already up and out in the garden beds around his house, wheelbarrow full of mulch. Gardeners don’t rest in springtime.</p><p>               “You sure you don’t want to come, Basil? We’ve still got some time before the bus heads out, you could get cleaned up. You know Sunny would like to see you,” Kel said to him.</p><p>               Basil didn’t even look up – he just kept tossing shovelfuls of mulch. “I don’t know anything like that, Kel.”</p><p>               “Don’t be hardheaded for no reason, man,” said Kel. “Whatever you’ve got in mind with Sunny, it’ll never happen if you don’t see him.”</p><p>               Basil shrugged. Then he paused, and looked up from his work for a minute; and that hardness, so alien to Basil’s gentle features, dissipated. He slumped.</p><p>               “Look, Kel… I need a little bit of time to think. And space. I’m just not ready to see him right now.”</p><p>               Kel put his hand on Basil’s shoulder, and smiled. “Hey, now you’re talking sense at least. That’s okay, Bas – nothing wrong with taking some time to think.”</p><p>               Basil returned Kel’s smile. “Listen, Kel – will you stop by here after you get back, and tell me how it went? I do want to talk to you about it all. But later.”</p><p>               “Sure thing, buddy! We’ll miss you, but hey – next time.”</p><p>Kel gave a thumbs-up, and sauntered off, spirits considerably lighter. It was heavy, or had the potential to be heavy anyway – this love triangle business, or whatever it was. But Kel didn’t see any reason why it should bust up the gang’s friendships. Couldn’t they all talk it out, reasonably, and then just be pals again?</p><p>               At least Basil wasn’t acting all hateful and miserable this time, Kel thought. Maybe it’s gonna be okay!</p><p>               Then – he arrived at the bus shelter, and saw Aubrey waiting for him. She was wearing a dress: an honest-to-God black dress, with sleeves, and a wide gray belt across the middle, and long black boots and red stud earrings; and in her hair was a headband with an artificial black rose, standing out against her pink hair. The effect was startling. Kel’s heart skipped a beat, and he realized that it wasn’t going to be so simple after all.</p><p>              </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p>              </p><p>               The intercity bus to Woodlawn had individual seats, with little tray tables; it reminded Kel of an airplane. There weren’t many riders on that Saturday morning. Aubrey took a seat by the window – seeing the armrest was in its up position, she folded it down; as the bus set off, she stared out of the window and watched the scenery go by, chin propped up on one hand.</p><p>               Kel checked his pockets – wallet, keys, cellphone, wallet, keys, cellphone. He tried to relax, to look forward to a day with Sunny; but he kept looking over at Aubrey who, quite apart from being annoyed, didn’t notice at all. Kel noticed – the first time in his life that he’d ever noticed this with a girl – that Aubrey had done her makeup. He didn’t know any of the words surrounding makeup, didn’t know foundation, blush, or rouge, but he knew the outcome: that while before, Aubrey had looked, to him anyway, like any other rebellious Faraway Town teenager just trying to stand out, she had now become something more than that. An alien beauty from another world; an exotic flower imported with tremendous difficulty from an island in the middle of the ocean, the likes of which he’d never seen before or would again.</p><p>               She glanced at him, and gave something halfway between a snort and a laugh. “Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” She looked back to the window.</p><p>               Even Kel noticed how un-Kel-like his thoughts were. He tried to get a grip. <em>It’s just Aubrey. Aubrey! The same Aubrey you used to blast in the face with snowballs when you were little. Just Aubrey. Your childhood friend Aubrey. Picture snot running down her nose, and her wiping it on her sleeve. Lord knows you actually saw that in real life enough times. </em></p><p>“Alright, Kel, why are you staring at me? You’re creeping me out,” said Aubrey.</p><p>               “Oh. Um. Sorry,” said Kel. After a moment he said, “So… I was talking to Basil earlier. And, uh… he was talking about he always thought we would end up together.”</p><p>               “You and Basil?” said Aubrey. “I could sort of see that. Opposites attract, I guess.”</p><p>               “No, Aubrey. Me and… you.”</p><p>               Kel’s eyes met Aubrey’s. She looked vaguely like someone had just slapped her. He returned his gaze to his lap. “Ahaha, crazy, right?” he said.</p><p>               “Kel,” said Aubrey. He looked up again. “Are you being serious? Your face is too stupid to hide anything anyway, so don’t try.”</p><p>               Kel thought of Sunny; of all the hard work he’d done, already, to try and fight for these two hurt, broken kids’ happiness. He thought, for a moment, of Aubrey running to him in some moment of pain or joy, of taking her into his arms – remembered, suddenly, who he, Kel, was to her. Just empty-headed, silly Kel. Aubrey was watching him now, not unkindly; but Kel remembered all the times they’d made fun of each other before, and realized that he shouldn’t be so sure she hadn’t meant it – remembered the sneer she displayed when she caught him with a good one. No – put these feelings away. It should be Aubrey and Sunny together. Let them be happy with each other.</p><p>               “Nah,” said Kel. “I just thought it was funny, how sometimes people get the wrong idea. Never mind. Sorry I brought it up.”</p><p>              </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               The bus arrived at Woodlawn’s central bus depot a little after 9:00, in that soft April morning haze that promised a bright day to come. Sunny was waiting for them, sporting a blue cable-knit vest over a white button-down, khakis and brown Oxfords. He gave a casual wave, whereupon Kel ran to him and embraced him, and then dragged Aubrey in, creating a messy, awkward group hug.</p><p>               Aubrey pulled away, making a fair show of looking annoyed; and took a long look at Sunny. “When are you gonna stop dressing like such a dork, Sunny?”</p><p>               “Uh, I don’t know… I guess whenever you stop dressing like an ‘80s mall goth?” said Sunny.</p><p>               Emotions flickered across their faces – joy mixed with doubt, excitement combined with the all-important need to play it cool, desire mixed with uncertainty: <em>does he like me back? Is she just happy to see me… as a friend?</em> Sunny checked Kel’s response – not jealousy, just happy, guileless Kel.</p><p>               Sunny took them on a stroll in the sunshine, showing the sights of Woodlawn – a totally ordinary little place, interesting only in that it wasn’t Faraway Town. The high school was a bit newer, more metal-and-glass than old brick, and the playing fields a bit more well-kept. They took a stroll through the Super Othermart, bought a bag of candy that wasn’t stocked in Faraway Town anymore; had a few pieces and then tossed the bag in the trash, when even Kel realized that their tastes had changed since they were little. Kel sensed a bit of awkward tension, but nobody was better-suited to break that up. He kept up a running patter, drawing out stories about what the new teachers were like from Sunny, about what had happened to the weird girl from gym class, long ago, who would take her piece of gum out, stick it behind her ear, and then start chewing it again later in the day. (She’d become a volleyball ace; and still did the thing with the gum.) About what Basil was up to, about Hero's latest letters home.</p><p>               “We’re almost there,” said Sunny, after they’d followed him some distance down a non-descript residential street that had no sign of any thing of interest. The sun had come out, and it was just bright enough to make drops of sweat stand out on their foreheads. “The pride of Woodlawn – the one thing which we have over every other place.”</p><p>               “We’re not even there yet, and I already feel let down,” said Aubrey.</p><p>               At last they arrived at this, the highlight of their tour. It was an obelisk, perhaps the height of a medium-sized tree, made of stones roughly mortared together. It sat in a little paved lot, the size of an average front yard. In front of it was a green park bench.             </p><p>               “This is it!” said Sunny.</p><p>               “Is it a, uh… a sundial?” said Kel.</p><p>               “Is it your mom’s dil-“ began Aubrey, but Sunny cut her off, exclaiming – “It’s the geographic center of the state! At this point, we’re farther from every other state, than we’d be anywhere else. In the state.”</p><p>               He looked at Kel and Aubrey, with his most perfect deadpan expression. “Isn’t it majestic?”</p><p>               “Uh….” said Kel.</p><p>               “This is totally stupid!” cried Aubrey.</p><p>               Sunny smiled a tiny, mischievous smile. “I know. That’s what makes it great. It’s the pride of Woodlawn.”</p><p>               “Well… I’m gonna climb it!” said Kel.</p><p>               “Before you do that – “ Aubrey’s heart pounded in her chest, as she fished her cellphone out of one pocket, nail catching on the crack in the screen. “Take a picture of me and Sunny,” she ordered Kel, blushing, and handed him the phone.</p><p>               Sunny and Aubrey sidled up next to each other, in front of the obelisk, both hesitating. Then Sunny put his arm around Aubrey’s waist, and pulled her close, noticing the slight dampness of her shirt, the smell of body spray from the mall; she put her arm around his shoulders in response, resting her cheek for a moment against the top of his head. It was the closest they’d been in many years; it was nothing like it had been before.</p><p>               Kel snapped the shot. The sun was right overhead – it was a terrible, overexposed picture. Then, with perfect discretion, rather than disturb them, Kel slipped Aubrey’s phone into his pocket, darted past them, and started climbing the obelisk. There were great handholds in the gaps between the stones. He took his time about it, and was soon sitting 25 feet in the air on the square top of it, looking at the little town.</p><p>               Aubrey and Sunny, seizing the opportunity, embraced, for a moment. <em>What do I do? What does this mean? </em>They held each other, squeezed; <em>the way he’s holding me!... what about Kel? Do we… do we kiss? No, I’m not sure, it’s just a hug</em>… they pulled apart.</p><p>               “I missed you,” said Aubrey.</p><p>               “I’m… I’m glad you came today,” said Sunny. They were both looking at the ground.</p><p>               They heard the crash of Kel’s feet, landing heavily on the ground behind them. He came up, slapped them both on the back, handed Aubrey her phone. “We should go get some lunch, eh? Do they eat hamburgers in this town? Is that just a Faraway Town thing?” Sunny and Aubrey, momentarily relieved of the pressure, rolled their eyes, and they laughed together.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               They’d gone to a diner called “Hungry Hank’s” – <em>Try our famous Slawburger! Serving Woodlawn since 1952 –</em> a place where the walls were covered with newspaper clippings of old sporting achievements, where the dust in the ceiling air ducts was clearly of the finest antique vintage, where the dude working the grill probably had a hard time keeping his fryer burns and his prison scars straight in his mind. It would perhaps have been a more natural fit for truckers or cops, but in Woodlawn there wasn’t really a superior option, and so it was, in fact, full of gangly, pimply, pierced, awkward teens of all kinds.</p><p>               They stared at menus, waiting for ages for a waitress to appear. Aubrey reached her hand out under the table, more in hope than in expectation – and met Sunny’s, reaching in the same way. Their eyes met and widened; their fingers interlocked. The waitress, long anticipated, appeared: grey-haired, impressive mole on her chin. “Can I get you kids anything to drink?” she said in piercing tones which threatened to stop Aubrey’s heart.</p><p>               “W-w-water’s fine,” she said, and not hearing what the others ordered, she excused herself to go to the bathroom.</p><p>               Aubrey locked the door behind her, bent over the sink, and looked in the mirror.</p><p>               “This… this is crazy,” she said out loud, to herself. <em>He – he likes me, doesn’t he? Does he actually like me back? Really? Is that possible? </em></p><p>               She examined herself. Sweat had made her eyeliner run; she dabbed at it frantically with a moistened square of toilet paper, which only made it smear until, frustrated, she scraped it off. Flyaways of hair were escaping her headband, and she noticed with horror that a bit of sweat had dampened the armpits of her dress: the kinds of things which Sunny would, in reality, never have noticed in a million years, but which in the moment can be quite terrifying.</p><p>               Aubrey took a deep breath, then another. <em>He held my hand! He was trying to hold my hand! Be cool – be cool. Be calm. Don’t say anything crazy. </em></p><p>With trembling hands, she opened the door and walked back down the corridor toward the booth; and stopped short. Into the booth, next to Sunny, right up against him in fact, had slid – a girl. A pretty girl, at that: a girl with soft, fluffy brown hair which made Aubrey intensely conscious of her crunchy, fried pink mane. The girl had cute round gold-framed glasses, and was wearing an open, frilly mauve blouse which revealed a impressive, freckled cleavage; and she pressed this up quite openly against Sunny’s arm as she pointed excitedly at things on her phone. Kel looked on, face a mask of fear; turned to Aubrey, who had suddenly gone ice cold.</p><p>“Uh – this girl is Harper. She says she’s in Sunny’s class. Um. She said she wanted to show him some prom dresses she’d found,” Kel mumbled.</p><p>               The girl Harper, and Sunny too, took forever to notice Aubrey. Aubrey stood there, watching them; Harper said something which must have been funny, and Sunny laughed, genuinely, a real laugh that broke his neutrality and furrowed his brow.</p><p>               Finally Harper looked up, and saw Aubrey standing there. She rose, the top of her head only coming up to Aubrey’s neck, saying in a high and lilting voice, “Oh, was I in your seat? I’m sorry – “</p><p>               Aubrey, without a word, charged at Harper, tackling her to the floor with a tremendous crash. Her face screwed up with rage, she drew back her fist and, hearing the screams of everyone in the diner as if in slow motion, landed one wild strike on the stunned Harper before Kel grabbed her and pinned her.</p><p>               There was noise, yelling, the grill cook shaking his head as if he’d seen it all before, the grey-haired waitress advancing on them with a spatula. “Harper!” cried Sunny, who went over to her and helped her up – she was in tears, badly shaken, and Aubrey’s wild blow had split her right eyebrow, which was beginning to bleed. Kel looked around, trying to think, trying to contain Aubrey, who was beginning to weaken. He met Sunny’s eyes – neither of them could think of anything appropriate to say in response to this madness. “Uh… I’ll call you later!” yelled Kel, and he roughly dragged Aubrey to her feet and out of the diner before anyone could stop him. Sunny didn’t try to give chase: he had his arms quite full, as Harper wept on his chest. He thought of how he would explain any of this, of what it meant; he tried to think of what this said about Aubrey’s feelings, but Harper looked up at him, eyes full of tears, and he forgot about it for the moment.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>               Kel led a mute Aubrey back to the bus station, got them tickets back, and got them onto the bus. Aubrey held her composure right up until the bus started rolling; and then she broke down in wracking sobs. Her makeup streamed down her face with tears; she clenched the hem of her dress, gripped it like a lifeline.</p><p>               “I don’t know why I did it, Kel! I just – I lost control!” she said.</p><p>               <em>Because you may actually be a psycho? </em>thought Kel, for an instant; but this wasn’t the time. “Feelings are confusing. I get that.” <em>Seriously. I really do. </em></p><p>               “He’s – he’s going to hate me forever,” she sobbed. “It was supposed to be… such a good day… but when I saw Sunny laugh at her dumb j-joke – why can’t he laugh like that for me?”</p><p>               “Aubrey,” said Kel. “Don’t think about it right now. It’s gonna be okay. Sunny loves us. We’ll work it out. Besides – I think, I mean from earlier, it sure looks like he – “</p><p>               But Aubrey wasn’t listening very closely. Instead, she grabbed on to Kel, and buried her face in his shirt. There was nothing Kel could do, but hold her.</p><p>               “Like he likes you…” Kel finished, mumbling. <em>Not this… oh Aubrey, not this.</em> He tried to think of Sunny, like he’d done that morning, but now Aubrey was here, <em>right here</em>, far softer than he would’ve thought, vulnerable and sad – he felt a powerful need to protect her, imagined comforting her in the future, turning her tears to smiles himself… <em>oh, why is it like this. I’m trying so hard, Sunny, I swear.</em></p><p>               Just then his phone buzzed. With his off hand he pulled it out – it was Basil. “How’s it going? Still coming by later?” read the message.</p><p>               “IT IS A F***ING MESS BAS,” Kel sent in reply. In time, with the smooth motion of the bus and Kel gently stroking her hair, Aubrey fell asleep on his lap. Kel could only sigh.</p><p>              </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Bet you thought I'd abandoned this, didn't you? :)<br/>Sorry about the delay - been hard to find the time lately. But I'm going to finish this story. You'll see.<br/>One other thing you may have been wondering about: Hero has a major role to play in this. He'll be coming along in a couple of chapters.<br/>As always, let me know what you think. I'll do my best with Chapter 4.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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